The American Football Association of Germany (; AFVD) is the governing body of the sport of
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and the
German Football League
The German Football League (GFL) is a professional American football league in Germany. The league was formed in 1979. In 1999, the league changed to its current name from American-Football-Bundesliga.
.
Formed in 1982,Gründung des AFVD AFVD website- Formation of the association, accessed: 20 January 2011 the association oversees the German league system, the various
German Bowl
The German Bowl is the annual national championship game in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the German Football League.
The New Yorker Lions, from Braunschweig, are the record winners of the G ...
s and the national selections.
History
The history of American football in Germany, outside the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
bases in the country, began in 1977, when the
Frankfurter Löwen
The Frankfurter Löwen () were an American football team from Frankfurt, Germany.
The ''Löwen'' were the first American football club to be formed in Germany.
In March 1979, the ''AFBD'', the American Football Federation of Germany (), was formed, the first of its kind in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. This organisation, in 1982, was replaced by the ''AFVD'', the American Football Association of Germany.
A national league, originally the '' American Football Bundesliga'', later to be renamed the German Football League,GFL German Football League AFVD website, accessed: 29 December 2010 was formed in 1979, consisting of six clubs, the Frankfurter Löwen, Ansbach Grizzlies,
Düsseldorf Panther
The Düsseldorf Panther are an American football team from Düsseldorf, Germany. The club is the oldest extant American football club in Europe, having been formed on 1 May 1978.Munich Cowboys, Berlin Bears and Bremerhaven Seahawks.Geschichte AFVD website - Early years, accessed: 20 January 2011 The first-ever league game was held on 4 August 1979, played between the Frankfurter Löwen and the Düsseldorf Panther, and ended in a victory for Frankfurt.Google book review: Turnen and sport: transatlantic transfers author: Annette R. Hofmann, accessed: 12 January 2010 The first ever
German Bowl
The German Bowl is the annual national championship game in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the German Football League.
The New Yorker Lions, from Braunschweig, are the record winners of the G ...
was held on 10 November 1979 and also ended in a victory for the Frankfurter Löwen.Football History Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 2 January 2010
In 1980 and 1981, the league and American football in Germany saw a split with Düsseldorf and Bremerhaven leaving the competition to take part in a separate, short-lived competition, the '' Nordwestdeutsche Football-Liga - NFL'', but, by 1982, union was restored and the renegade teams returned.
In 1981, the German national team was formed, winning its first-ever international, a game against
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, 12–6.
On 16 October 1982, the ''AFVD'' was officially formed and, in the following year, it was decided to form regional associations as well. The German national team, also from 1983 onwards, started to participate in the European Championships. In 1986, women's American football began to develop, with the first official game held in 1987.
American football started to boom in Germany from the early 1990s onwards, initiated through the Frankfurt Galaxy, which attracted many younger fans to the sport and also provided some media attention.Der Verband etabliert sich AFVD website, accessed: 20 January 2011
As of 1 January 2010, the ''AFVD'' announced a new record membership of 40,051, and increase of 7.31 percent in comparison to the previous year. The associations growth since the year 2000, when it had 18,875 members, is mainly due to the improved youth programs of its clubs. While, in the early years, very few clubs had a youth team, it is now commonplace to have a number of junior teams in every club.
In 2018, the AFVD reached a new peak by counting 63,060 members.
With triumphs in the European Championships of American Football 2001, 2010 and again 2014 as well as dominant performances of German club teams in the BIG6 European Football League since its inception in 2014, the AFVD has established itself as one of the premier American Football associations in Europe, if not the world.
League system
The
league system
A league system is a hierarchy of sports league, leagues in a sport. They are often called pyramids, due to their tendency to split into an increasing number of regional divisions further down the system. League systems of some sort are used in ma ...
in American football in Germany operates as a pyramid, with clubs in every league being able to achieve promotion and relegation, subject to their final standings and the promotion and relegation games.
Men
In 2010, the pyramid consisted of six levels, however, tier six leagues did only exist in some regions.
The top level of the league system, the GFL, is a national league with inter conference games between the two regional divisions. The second level, the GFL2, is divided into two regional divisions without inter conference games. The third level is the ''Regionalliga'' (), divided into five separate leagues. Below this, the seven ''Oberligas'' () are set, followed by the ''Verbandsligas'' (), ''Landesligas'' () and ''Aufbauligas'' ():
Legend
* HH/SH:
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
/
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...
* LS/B:
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
/
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
* NRW:
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
* HE/RP/SA:
Hesse
Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
/
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
/
Saarland
Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...
American Football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...